Groves *Gluten Free* Gourmet Blog

May is coming to a close and then it will be June, the first major month for farmers markets.  In honor of Memorial Day and the traditional start of summer, below is a recipe for meringue cookies.  They are light, crunchy, and probably the easiest recipe for meringue cookies on the net.  Enjoy!

Meringue Cookies

• 4 egg whites (must not pierce the yolk during separation)
• 1/4 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
• 1 cup sugar (or baking Splenda)
• handheld electric mixer

Preheat oven to 300F.  Make sure the egg whites have been separated with no chance of the yolk spilling in them.  Usually I separate in one bowl and then if separated cleanly, pour the white into the mixing bowl and repeat for the rest of the eggs.  Freeze or discard the yolks.  Once all egg whites are in mixing bowl, add the cream of tartar.  Mix the egg whites on a low speed and gradually speed up to full speed and whip the eggs until foamy peaks form, then with the mixer still whipping, add sugar slowly until completely added.  Whip until smooth stiff peaks form when the beaters are lifted.  Spoon whipped meringue into small dollops on 2 parchment lined cookie sheets.  Meringue cookies do not spread when baking, so they can be close together on the sheet.  Bake for an hour.

These cookies can be stored in an airtight container — that is if it’s possible to let them get past even 3 days without being fully consumed.

Some variations to consider

• add 1 teaspoon vanilla or other extract
• add 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
• add 1/4 teaspoon cloves and 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• add unsweetened grated coconut

Here’s a recipe for simple gluten free granola that can be made with gluten free oats. Pair it with a yogurt like So Delicious brand Coconut Milk Yogurt for a tasty parfait, have with rice milk or almond milk in place of cereal, or just nibble on it dry.

Homemade Gluten Free Granola

• 2 cups gluten free rolled oats
• 2-3 tbsp canola or oil of choice + more if needed
• 1/4 cup canola in separate step
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• liquid sweetener like honey, agave, maple syrup to help bind together
• dried fruit, seeds, nuts to stir in

Using a large non-stick skillet, heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil on medium to medium high and swirl around to evenly coat pan in a very thin layer. When skillet is hot, add the oats and stir. The oats will soak up any oil quickly. Keep stirring oats until they brown slightly being careful to not burn them. Once oats seem sufficiently toasted, pour them into a bowl and set aside, then add the 1/4 cup of oil to skillet and brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the oats back in to completely coat. Turn off heat now. At this point, the oats will probably still be more individual separated than forming clumps, so add liquid sweetener of choice until oats form small clumps (about 1/4-1/2 cup worth) and stir in any dried fruits, seeds, or nuts if desired, no more than about 3/4 cup worth.

Preheat oven 200F, then cover a medium cookie sheet with wax paper. Spritz the paper with a little nonstick spray if desired as it’s not completely necessary, just a little easier later when the granola is done. Spread the granola mixture onto the wax paper into an even thin layer from end to end. Turn off oven and place granola in the oven and let sit a few hours or overnight. Crumble the cooled and hardened granola and store in an airtight container. Depending on the add ins, this recipe will yield about 3/4 lb to over a pound of granola.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

There’s nothing like the smell of cinnamon and yeast to make a place feel occupied and comfortable. And since yeast bread is a tricky thing no matter if you can bake with wheat or have to go without, here’s my recipe with lots of pictures along the way to guide.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

• 11.75 ounces (2.5 cups equivalent) of flour mix for “white bread” available as a baking supply from Groves Gourmet
• 2 tsp Guar Gum (Xanthan works too, could even try 1 tbsp in plain gelatin for substitution if both gums are hard to get)
• 1 tsp Sea Salt
• 1 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Ground Cloves
• Rapid Rise Yeast packet
• 1.25 cups water at 120F
• 1 tbsp Agave Nectar (or other sweetening/sugar)
• 1 Egg beaten frothy
• 3 tbsp Canola Oil
• 1/2 tsp Cider Vinegar
• 1/2 cup sugar/sweetener of choice (agave, honey, brown sugar, etc.)
• 1/2 cup raisins

Wet and dry ingredients set up for Cinnamon Bread.

Use cooking thermometer to test temp of water to be sure it is 120F and adjust as needed with hot or cold water until right. This is VERY important. Yeast is a very touchy little organism and it really seems to like nothing colder than 115ish and can be killed off at over 120F.  Pour yeast packet into mixing bowl, then add 120F water and cover with a dish towel to let it “proof.” All proofing means is the yeast is activated into little bubbles. I had to search out a picture for myself to realize my previous attempts at proofing didn’t take last year. See picture below.

Proofed yeast in a mixing bowl.

It basically looks like a scuzzy looking head of foam like off a beer poured from a draft. Lots of bubbles, thick foam, and slippery. Set the mixing bowl aside to proof (covered) and get the other ingredients together as follows. Dry ingredients in one bowl which is the GF bread flour (mine is a combo of millet, tapioca, and potato starch), guar gum, sea salt, and spices, then mix well to get the gum spreading through the dry mixture. Beat the egg until frothy in a separate bowl, add the oil and vinegar. The half cup of sugar and half cup of raisins are still left aside.

Check to make sure yeast proofed (if not, don’t waste the other ingredients, just dump it out and start that part over with another yeast packet). Then add the eggs, oil, and vinegar and mix together, then add sugar and mix, then gradually add the dry mixture. The resulting dough will be a wet dough like the one pictured below.

Dough before raisins are added.

Dough in loaf pans straight from mixing bowl.

Loaves that rose before cooking.

Loaves on the cooling rack, one left in pan just for comparison.

Sliced bread next to uncut loaves.

Time to enjoy! It’s even little girl approved.

Eating yummy bread.